“This is a confluence of events unrelated to the success of our locations, quality of our product and service to our customers,” Ballantine said in a statement. “One of the biggest challenges for small business owners to surmount is navigating contracts with larger, better-funded companies.”

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Willy's Originals closed its location at 890 Loucks Road in York.

Willy's Originals closed its location at 890 Loucks Road in York.

Anthony J. Machcinski, York Daily Record

The Loucks Road location opened this summer after Ballantine opted to create his own restaurant chain, as opposed to being a franchisee of several Pie Five Pizza locations as planned.

“We wanted to give people in this area food that they wanted, and that’s hard to do when you’re part of a national system,” Ballantine said in November. “Now, we can go out to our customers and say, ‘Do you like this kind of food?’”

Willy’s Originals still operates locations in Springettsbury Township and Chambersburg. Despite the closure, the company is not currently seeking a second site in the York area to take its place.

Anthony J. Machcinski is the food reporter for the York Daily Record. Follow him on Facebook, @ChinskiTweets on Twitter or email him at amachcinski@ydr.com.